Chapter 81
Translator: TrueDetective
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: 24. Regarding Faith (1)
“The Heavenly Demon... you really trust him, don’t you, Miss So?”
Trust the Heavenly Demon... for real?
Asking it like that meant he wanted to say I shouldn’t trust the Heavenly Demon.
I knew full well the Heavenly Demon wasn’t the trustworthy type.
The fact that he had that much power yet was still doing idol work, or that he was holding back from directly harming the shady CEO.
And today, facing that scroll...
‘The Heavenly Demon... doesn’t seem all that eager to return to the martial world.’
If he desperately wanted to go back, he wouldn’t have reacted so calmly in front of a scroll leading to the martial world.
He should’ve at least vented his anger at the shady CEO for pulling that stunt.
But the Heavenly Demon was the one who first said he wanted to return...
‘Was he serious when he said he wanted to finish his idol activities first?’
If the Heavenly Demon did stick around as an idol for a thousand years before heading back to the martial world, the issue with the excommunicated disciples’ bodies would remain.
Unless he planned to perform as a senior citizen idol, their bodies needed to be returned within at least one or two years.
The Heavenly Demon had to know that.
He’d even said in front of the excommunicated disciples that if they sent him back, he’d return their bodies.
‘...Thinking about it now, it doesn’t add up.’
There was a contradiction in the Heavenly Demon’s words.
But that alone wasn’t enough reason to say I shouldn’t trust him.
To begin with, it was the shady CEO who’d transferred the excommunicated disciples’ bodies.
Lion CEO couldn’t know our plans, so it was weird for him to even bring up trust with the Heavenly Demon.
‘Let’s think it over again... He asked if I really trusted the Heavenly Demon, right?’
Assuming Lion CEO didn’t know our situation.
His words sounded almost like the Heavenly Demon was targeting me specifically.
“You’re taking a while to think.”
Lion CEO said with a sly smile.
“Taking so long means you have your doubts about trusting the Heavenly Demon too, right, Miss So? Then I’m relieved.”
“...Do you think I have anyone trustworthy around me? The shady CEO and you are both equally untrustworthy, aren’t you?”
“Not me.”
Lion CEO’s red eyes sparkled.
“You said you’d trust me if you won the bet.”
“‘If you win the bet,’ you said.”
“You still think the shady CEO will harm you, huh.”
After saying that, Lion CEO tilted his head slightly, as if something bothered him.
“...Is the shady CEO preparing something else that’ll really piss her off?”
I pulled a thick book from the bookshelf to avoid showing I flinched at Lion CEO’s mutter.
He continued brightly.
“Even if she is, you’ll be fine, Miss So.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because if not, you’d be dead already!”
Did he have to say it so cheerfully?
“I heard you’re starting your own agency.”
“You heard? Would that normally be a death sentence too?”
“Even before that, you’d have died the moment you learned about the sixth floor’s resident.”
Did Lion CEO even know what I did on the sixth floor?
What exactly was his relationship with the shady CEO?
From the way he talked, unlike Teacher Namgoong Ryeo, he didn’t seem like her subordinate.
But he wasn’t just a close associate either, given the tracker incident...
No, that was because of the bet, so maybe it wasn’t him doing her a favor.
“Since you seem to know about the sixth floor too, let me ask...”
We’d already laid our cards on the table, so I decided to ask Lion CEO the questions I’d been holding onto.
“I don’t think you’re an ordinary person either, CEO Lion.”
“Of course I’m special.”
“Is the martial art you practice the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?”
“......”
For the first time, Lion CEO was at a loss for words.
The Heavenly Demon had said the martial art Lion CEO practiced was likely the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the Great Demon Divine Art, or something influenced by the Heavenly Demon’s hand.
That’s why his internal energy felt murky, and he probably couldn’t stand on the formation with us.
If Lion CEO had nothing to do with summoning the Heavenly Demon...
Why would someone from the 21st century practice something like the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?
“......”
Instead of his usual glib response, Lion CEO looked at me warily.
“...The Heavenly Demon must’ve told you I practice martial arts.”
“Yes.”
“But you still asked if it was the ‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art’... looks like even he only grasped the shallow fact that I practice demonic arts.”
As he spoke, Lion CEO seemed to regain his usual composure.
Soon, with his signature predatory expression, he murmured slyly.
“Wanna bet if the martial art I practice is really the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?”
This gambling addict for real.
“What’re we betting this time?”
“Name your price.”
He really intended to bet.
If I could just confirm whether Lion CEO practiced the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, it was a bet with no downside for me.
After a moment’s thought, I said.
“If I win, I get to ask one question—anything I want.”
“And you’ll answer honestly?”
“Of course.”
“Deal.”
Lion CEO clapped his hands, his face slightly flushed, and asked.
“Alright, Miss So. Bet on whether the martial art I practice is the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?”
I shook my head.
“I’ll bet it isn’t.”
Lion CEO looked surprised.
“You think I’m not the Heavenly Demon?”
“Yes.”
He stared at me for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“You lose, Miss So. The martial art I practice is indeed the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
“...!”
I’d thought there was a 50% chance he might be the Heavenly Demon, but Lion CEO was really the Heavenly Demon?
His words didn’t stop there.
“But it’s different from... that guy Wei Huajin’s Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
“Different?”
“The Heavenly Demon known as Invincible East. Ever heard of him?”
Invincible East, a Heavenly Demon?
The only Heavenly Demon I knew was Wei Huajin.
But the alias rang a bell somehow.
‘Invincible East...’
Wait a second.
“...Isn’t that the Heavenly Demon from the movie?”
“Oh, you know a film that came out before you were born? Remember the plot?”
“Invincible East was a man who became a woman, right...?”
No way.
No way, right?
“The Heavenly Demon Divine Art I practice is the Extreme Yin Art.”
“Extreme Yin Art... you mean.”
“Master it to the extreme... and this is what happens.”
“This?”
When I asked back, Lion CEO’s eyes narrowed.
“Hmm, rude to play dumb when you’ve figured it out...”
“No, how am I supposed to just accept that you’re a gender-swapped Heavenly Demon?!”
“What’s a TS Heavenly Demon? Trans-Sexual?”
Wow, his English pronunciation is spot on.
No, that’s not the point.
“You really... gender-swapped?”
“Isn’t TS Heavenly Demon the origin?”
What are you talking about? I just learned the term TS Heavenly Demon!
The corner of Lion CEO’s mouth twitched like a spasm, then he burst into laughter as if he couldn’t hold it anymore.
“Ah, ahaha, hahaha, heh, ahaha, ahem.”
...Seeing him laugh so joyfully, it seemed like “TS Heavenly Demon” was just something he threw out to tease me.
“Ah, sorry. Your serious face was too funny, Miss So. I thought you weren’t interested in me, but you do care if I might’ve been a man?”
Was he serious?
Even if it’d been Na Hani hearing this, she’d definitely be shaken.
“Anyway, I won the bet. Can I ask my question now?”
It seemed like the TS Heavenly Demon bit was a joke, but I’d still learned she was a real Heavenly Demon who practiced the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
No reason to hesitate paying up on the bet.
“Go ahead.”
“I was gonna ask why you came to the CEO’s mansion originally, but... now I’m curious about something else.”
Lion CEO brushed back her hair and asked.
“Why’d you think I wasn’t the Heavenly Demon?”
She stared at my face, genuinely curious.
“With my appearance resembling Wei Huajin’s, or my closeness to the shady CEO, you could’ve guessed I was the Heavenly Demon.”
“You said you don’t like mentioning murder.”
Before, when I’d falsely claimed the shady CEO ordered a murder, Lion CEO had reacted with extreme rejection to the word “murder.”
A stark contrast to Wei Huajin, who’d just say wipe them all out.
That’s why I thought Lion CEO was far removed from demonic cultists.
Even seeing her red eyes, I hadn’t suspected demonic arts because of that.
“Anyway... you just didn’t seem like the Heavenly Demon.”
“Truth is, I don’t want to look like one.”
She didn’t want to look like the Heavenly Demon?
‘So she didn’t become the Heavenly Demon because she wanted to...?’
Lion CEO was the only one free from the shady CEO’s control.
Even if she worried about the shady CEO noticing, she’d still come meet me in secret.
For even someone like her to have ascended to a Heavenly Demon position she didn’t want...
I’d thought the shady CEO was the final boss up until now, but maybe... there was someone else.
I wanted to hear more from Lion CEO.
“If you still have more questions, how about we take turns asking one at a time?”
“Boring without a bet.”
“Rock-paper-scissors count as a bet?”
“Rock-paper-scissors?”
She chuckled as if my suggestion was cute, then rolled up her sleeve to her elbow.
“But keep answers short.”
“Fine.”
We played rock-paper-scissors, and Lion CEO won the first round.
“I’ll ask what I wanted earlier. What brought you to the CEO’s mansion?”
“To find evidence that she summoned the Heavenly Demon.”
We played again, and I won this time.
“Is that evidence in the mansion now?”
“Probably not.”
We quickly played another round, and I won again.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because she didn’t summon the Heavenly Demon.”
Did Lion CEO also know the shady CEO didn’t summon the Heavenly Demon?
We played once more, and when I won again, I realized Lion CEO was throwing the matches.
“You believe the shady CEO when she says she didn’t summon him?”
“It’s not about belief... I saw something.”
She saw something?
In the next round, Lion CEO won as if by magic.
“If I said there’s nothing here right now, would you leave immediately?”
“That’s... no.”
Lion CEO gave a strange look, then quickly won another round and asked.
“So there’s another reason you came to this mansion?”
“......”
“No commenting out.”
I’d been thinking it was time to broach the topic.
Pretending to hesitate a bit, I opened my mouth.
“...I heard the CEO is trying to establish the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
Lion CEO’s response was unexpected.
“Isn’t that almost ready to go?”
“Almost ready?”
“I was originally part of that plan. As the sole Heavenly Demon. So I know all about it.”
Lion CEO’s eyes darkened briefly before she smiled slyly at me.
“Now I see you’re still hiding more. You know about the shady CEO starting the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, yet you’re staying in this house.”
Lion CEO stopped the rock-paper-scissors and asked.
“You’re not planning to leave this house, are you?”
We hadn’t played, but no reason not to answer, so I replied curtly.
“No.”
“Good. Then at least don’t stay alone with that fox. You know she’s been licking her chops watching you since earlier, right?”
...I didn’t.